DULUTH — When President Joe Biden delivers the final State of the Union address of his term Thursday night, investment in roads and bridges will no doubt be a key theme.
But the effects of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which authorized $550 billion in new spending, may not be as readily apparent as other administration policies, such as the Child Tax Credit or the $35 insulin cap, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg acknowledged.
That is partly why the agency has launched a new national video series called "Investing in America" to highlight projects funded by what Biden has coined as a "once-in-a-generation investment."
The first video, released Monday, focuses on the Twin Ports-spanning Blatnik Bridge, which is set to be replaced by 2032 thanks to a grant of more than $1 billion from the federal government in January.
"We're talking about one of the most economically significant bridges in the country," Buttigieg said Monday. "We're also talking about a critical facility that was potentially just a few years away from being out of service. So we understood the urgency of this and want to make sure, in a time of enormous controversy and negativity swirling out there, that a good story like this gets told."
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Buttigieg spoke with the News Tribune to discuss the importance of the Blatnik, as well as the DOT's new, "nontraditional" way to spread the word about projects funded by the law as applications have been processed and "dirt is starting to fly."
"We see many examples of how a critical piece of infrastructure has needed work for a long time, but didn't get that work because it was simply too large or too expensive to do with our traditional programs," he said. "The consequence of the underinvestment over many decades has undermined the condition of so many pieces of infrastructure, and the Blatnik Bridge is a major example of that."
The Blatnik opened over the St. Louis Bay between Duluth and Superior in 1961 and carries an average of 33,000 vehicles per day. But it has been deteriorating for years, with heavy trucks rerouted to the Bong Bridge, and transportation officials warned it would be necessary to close the bridge entirely by 2030.
The DOT video, shared on YouTube and social media, features cinematic shots of the Blatnik and surrounding towns, interlaced with comments from Buttigieg, Duluth Mayor Roger Reinert, Superior Mayor Jim Paine, a young member of Iron Workers Local 512 and Earth Rider Brewery owner Tim Nelson.
Nelson, who lives in Duluth and commutes to his business in Superior, had written a letter to Buttigieg in support of the bridge replacement and was selected by the White House to host Biden at a January event celebrating the largest such grant in federal government history.
The secretary said the DOT estimates the project will support 10,000 jobs in the region and pointed to the importance of the Port of Duluth-Superior as the busiest on the Great Lakes.
The federal government, Buttigieg said, is often bogged down in "policies and statistics," but at its core is a mission to "make things a little easier for and create opportunity for people."
"I was really moved to see the stories of people on the ground," he said. "Not just local leaders like the mayors, but the voice of the business owner, the voice of an ironworker. This is why we're doing all of this — to make sure that infrastructure is working for the people who count on it and that the jobs are being created for people who can create livelihoods around this good work."
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The Trust Project
